Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois

This morn Dave and I took a jog around the campground.  I have a love hate relationship with running.  I love the wind caressing my face as I swiftly glide by serene nature surrounding me in every direction.  I love the quiet, yet its not at all quiet, it is filled with the sounds of life.  The birds and squirrels enjoying their daily routines.  The trees swaying in the breeze.  The water rushing in the distance.  I love looking at the oddities of nature, for instance we noticed these weird roots that would come up from the ground and then curve and twist their way back up the trunk of the tree's as if they were desperate for one glimpse of sunlight.  I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when my run is over and I know I did something healthy for my body.  I think I could be quite passionate about running if I didn't feel as if I was carrying a pregnant elephant on my shoulders the whole run.  Also, when I mentioned the quiet, peaceful sounds of nature I forgot to mention that I can hardly hear them because of the overpowering sound of my lungs sucking in and out as I try to get one ounce of air. Not to mention that the birds and the squirrels are probably not enjoying their daily routines with the sounds and sight of a wheezing, stumbling, giant thundering through their once peaceful homes.  They are most likely collecting their valuables and running for their lives.  Oh well, at least I went for a jog!

After that lovely run we did a bunch of home school, had lunch and all enjoyed a hot shower at the campground showers.  We finally hit the road around 3 pm.  We drove thru tennessee, Missouri and are now in Illinois (10 pm).  We drove so much because we have to be in Indianapolis by 5 am Friday.  I have to catch a plane to Washington DC to watch my 'cous' Alan get married.  we did stop for 2 hours at a rest stop so that we could watch the Americ

an Idol Finale.  The whole time I prayed that our RV battery wouldn't die until I saw the results.  Congrats David (if you didn't see it I didn't give it away since both finalists are named David).  

Thought of the day:  The hardest part about being away is not being able to take everyone you love with you.  We really do miss you all and  are so glad that you are following along with us on this journey through our blog.  

Meeman-Shelby State Park Millington, Tennessee

Dave's house he lived in when he was 4

Memphis, Tennessee

Sorry I didn't post again yesterday but once again the campground we stayed at was in the middle of nowhere and we did not get Internet.  So this post is for Tuesday.

We drove into Tennessee and immediately went to the Memphis Visitor center.  You can always find a bunch of info at the visitor center.  We decided to walk through town and go to the Peabody hotel and watch the ducks march from the roof, though the elevator to the fountain.  We were not alone in this idea of viewing the ducks.  About 200 of our not so close friends were blocking our view of the cute little waddle the ducks make on their way to the fountain.

We did find a little space behind the fountain in which we got a somewhat blocked view.  The ducks were cute but I don't think they are worth the hype.  Did you know how this tradition started?  Well back in the 30's the general manager at that time Frank Schutt and his hunting buddies were quite drunk and thought it would be funny to leave their hunting decoys (live ducks) in the fountain.  Well to their surprise the ducks were still in the fountain in the morning.  Not only were the ducks enjoying themselves so was a crowd of people that had formed to watch the ducks.

 This gave Frank an idea about how to attract guests and from that day on the ducks became a Peabody tradition.  

After the Peabody we walked to Beale st.  It was pretty quiet since it was the middle of the day, but it was still cool to see.  We walked back to the RV and then drove by Medronic head quarters to see where Dave use to work.  After that drive by tour we ate lunch at the famous Interstate BBQ.  It as quite yummy, but way to filling.  We then drove by Graceland (you couldn't see much since we did not go in) but we did see two of Elvis's private planes.  We also took another drive by tour of the house that Dave lived in when he was 4.  It was very quaint in a very green, peaceful neighborhood.  Finally, we decided to stay at Meeman-Shelby State Park in Millington, Tennessee.  This was another beautiful state park with lots of tree's and wildlife.  I really like staying at state p

arks because they are usually a lot more spacious and relaxing.  The only downfall is that you usually don't get Internet or phone reception.  We also did not get cable so I missed American Idol!!  I'll watch tonight.